Wednesday, February 27, 2013

If you picture the ultimate sexy makeup look, what comes to mind? For me it's the quintessential, dramatically darkened eye smoked out to perfection. Smokey eyes are one of those key makeup looks that, in my opinion, every woman should learn how to perfect since it has the ability to bring attention and depth to the eyes like nothing else.

When Urban Decay came out with the Smoked Palette I knew I wanted to share the awesomeness with you like the fangirl of smokey eyes that I am. This is seriously some of the best that UD has to offer packed into one little palette. Let's take a closer look below!

The packaging is vinyl-zipped, similar to Urban Decay's Dangerous, Fun, and Feminine palettes, but is longer in width and comes with a miniature Primer Potion. Also included is a booklet that includes not only a tutorial for how to create a smokey eye, but 12 different smokey eyes which I am so happy about since it definitely has a couple that will easily cater to those with various eye shapes and crease types.

Inside, there is a full-sized mirror on the lid as well as a full-sized 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Perversion, which is among the blackest of black pencil eyeliners on the market. It also makes sense to include here since a great smokey eye starts with a great base and Perversion is actually a favorite of mine for this purpose.

Kinky / Freestyle / Mushroom / Backdoor / Blackout

Barlust / Rockstar / Evidence / Loaded / Asphalt

The stars of this palette are 10 eyeshadows in both neutrals and shades that can be used for a colored smokey eye. A couple of my all-time favorites are included in the spread including Loaded (gorgeous green that I included in my Build Your Own Palette) and Mushroom, a luscious taupe. Also included are your basic brown, purple, blue, and charcoal grey satin shades, as well as 4 matte shades to help contour and shape the rest of the eye.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the palette's shade range for the purpose of what the palette was created for. The matte highlight shade will complement the dark shades nicely without distracting the eye with more shimmer. There is also a great matte taupey-charcoal and black to help deepen any smokey eye. The formula on both matte and satin shades is smooth and pigmented without any "glitter" shadows arbitrarily thrown in as a mass crowd-pleaser (and blogger disappointment).

The one slightly regretful thought I have is that Freestyle, being a matte nude shade which is slightly peachy on my skintone, will probably not get much use since the color is too close to my skin color. Obviously girls who are lighter or much deeper than my own complexion shouldn't have this same problem, but it's worth noting if you are medium-toned like I am. Otherwise the Smoked Palette is a really strong offering from Urban Decay and by far one of my favorite releases from them in the last year. You can pick up the Smoked Palette from Sephora, Ulta, beauty.com for $49.

Readers, are you interested in a "smokey eye" palette? What is your favorite color(s) to use for smokey eyes? Let me know in the comments!Disclaimer: This post contains product provided by the company's PR for consideration. For more information please see my review policy.

oh wow those colors are so dark yet shiny and gorgeous. thanks for sharing. i can't wait to see a post where you use these colors! also i love black and brown for smoke eyes. kinda basic and neutral but i love it!

Thanks for the review! These look amazing, although ever since following your smokey eye tutorials, I feel there needs to be a blending shade like Buck to complete the set, as I find I can't live without that shade now for any of my eye makeup looks!

Thanks for the review!! I noticed that you've been doing more reviews on various products recently rather than just tutorials and I really appreciate it! Please keep up the great work because I would love to continue reading your reviews on other products out there!!

I do think that this is a wonderful palette, but I'm not sure how often I'll do a smokey eye except for more formal events. On a daily basis (for school/work), smokey eyes sometimes feels a bit overdoing it, no? Hence, I'll definitely think twice about how much use I can get out of this palette before deciding to purchase it or not.

If you are more of a softer neutrals girl, I would skip out on this one. I personally do a lot of "smudgey eyeliner" type of looks which use darker colors without being overbearing so I'm in love with this palette but it's definitely meant for a specific audience. ;)

Hi Jen: my name is Isabella. Your blog is pretty much my beauty bible, and you're so awesome!Could you do a post about tanning please? I'm 21, typical light Korean skin, and I did some bad sun damage to my face during high school because I was so into tanning and not so into skin care...Now I have a rigorous skin care routine, and I wear sunscreen everyday, so tanning naturally is not an option for me! But being a SoCal girl, I hate being so white during the summer! I did some product research and talked to beauty advisors at Sephora, but I'm not too adventurous about putting new stuff on my face due to sensitivity. What do you do about your tan during the summer, and do you know much about DHA in self tanners and if it's really harmful or not? Thanks!

Hi Isabella! I've honestly never used tanning products and try to avoid sun damage as well so I may not be the best counselor for a great all-over bronze (other than powder bronzers of course). If I do come across something spectacular for sensitive skin, I will definitely write about it though! :)

Jen, it's been long since you have reviewed about makeup brushes. Cuz you have bunch of brushes by various brands, could you review and recommend brushes? I'm thinking among MAC, sedona lace, sigma, and sepora. Thanks!!! and have a great weekend!!!

Currently, my favorite is Darkness. They can have a thicker band which is sometimes heavier & less comfortable at first but once they "soften up" they can look really beautiful on and last several wears before you have to toss them!

I think I remember a while back you said you would do a comparison btw the urban decay primer potion and two face shadow insurance. I see that you've been using the two face more often now. If you don't have much time to do a video, would you mind sharing a few thoughts to a fellow monolidder?

Jen!! First off I just wanted to say how much I love you. I'm 17 and my best friend and I adore you and Bubz!! Not only are you beautiful on the outside, but you're gorgeous on the inside because of how sweet and kind you two are. :)

I'm an asian girl as well and I'd like to point out that the peach shade is probably meant to be a blending shade, similar to Naked from the naked palette! It can blend out harsh edges and act as an 'eraser' for mistakes! Please try it out! I'm sure that shade will work wonders for blending out a smokey eye as it does for me!!

You are the biggest inspiration to me and you've really given me confidence about finding my inner beauty. I love watching all your youtube tutorials and hauls too :) You got me interested in make-up and how it can make you feel even more beautiful. I recently started a blog to follow your footsteps. It would mean the world to me if you checked it out :)

i like this one, personally. neither of the naked palettes appeal to me since i don’t wear neutrals at all but instead prefer darker looks and shadows. if i bought it it’d be my first UD anything, which i think would be a good investment.

Hi Jen! You've got such a positive energy - thank you for sharing it with everyone. =) I was wondering if you've used this palette since your review? I just snagged it since it was on sale for $29 at Ulta and it would be amazing if you could do a tutorial, perhaps on the purple color. Thank you for doing what you do! <3